Would you fly on the Shuttle knowing there's a 1:50 chance you'll die?
 

Out of 113 shuttle missions, two have led to complete loss of their crews. Quick math points to a 1:57 chance that something happens on a given mission that results in catastrophe.

Probability experts at NASA peg the number at 1:100 under perfect safety conditions (Challenger was rushed to launch during conditions that were too cold in retrospect due to a teacher being on board creating PR pressure, meaning that the same launch wouldn't be greenlighted today, thus raising the odds of a successful launch according to these experts) but non-manned lift vehicles currently only achieve a successful liftoff that's closer to 1:25.

Regardless, if we put the number at 1:50, one chance out of 50 that you'll die, would you go?

some people play russian roulette, now THOSE odds are crazy....

me personally... if i had the chance to go to space.. yah i think i'd take it. thats a once in a lifetime thing... however TODAY i wouldn't because we arn't that far from having realistic solutions for everyday people like use wanting to take a quick space trip :)

Hell yea if i could physically and mentally handle the actual trip.

Ofcourse, you will never get a chance like that again.

i would do it if i was older, i mean i wouldnt have much life to live anyway even if i did die.

definitely not, not even for $100 Million

my life is most important for me

i am even afraid of getting on the plane ;)

what if they give you the oppertunity to diddle the moon?

yeah, I would .. always wanted to be an astronaut

especially if they gave me elite life insurance for my family :)

I would have definitely said yes 10 years ago. But as I age I feel that life is more precious, I'm becomming more aware of what it means to me. I want to squeeze every last drop from it before my ticket is punched from cancer, or a car crash, or whatever.

But I admire you ballsy people saying you'd go...

don't be afraid of the plane, you got more chance dying in a car crash

don't worry buddy, we arn't that far from commercial planes dipping into space for a bit during flights... and reasonable prices also.. and keep in mind... you have no idea how much more we will advance in 30 years then you can go :thumbsup


(thats if nuclear war doesn't completely wipe out the human species)

i'd be scared considering the fact that they've been having problems i'd rather them scrub the mission then send me up on a spaceship with a problem they can't fix even if it's just a gauge lol

When I was a kid, 9, 10 years old, I used to say to myself "shit we've already got the Concorde, by the time I'm 35 we'll be travelling at the edge of space and Tokyo will be two hours away". A few years later I watched with rapt attention as Reagan initiated the call for the "Orient Express" or "Space Plane" project which also promised the same result...

And now I'm almost 35 and we fly SLOWER than we did 10 years ago to improve fuel economy, we're packed into these giant aluminum cattle cars like flying city buses, and NASA has no answers for SSTO (single-stage-to-orbit) designs saying that it will take at least another "30 years" from today to even get close....

Oh well. At least we also have "much more realistic video games" which was also on my list at 10 years old, playing 1x1 pixel Atari 2600 games... :upsidedow

my life is precious then travelling to space.no no for me

Hey you win some, you lose some.. today's video games are pretty impressive!

I would jump at the chance to go onto space.
even if the odds were 1 in 10 that I may die

1 in 10.. you sure you would go?

i can offer you those odds of death here on earth at a fraction of the cost of going to space :winkwink:

:1orglaugh

1:50 id take my chances, if it was 1:5 I wouldnt do it.....

probably not..

space so what

damn right I would!
without thinking 2X about it

for $100mil i'll fly to space to fight with aliens

In a heartbeat.

Hell yea I'd fly.. that's gotta be the ride of your life so I think it's worth the risk.

The chances are that 100% of us will die

Nah. I personally have no interest in such things. Sure, it's a once in a lifetime and all, but nothing about space is all that interesting to me on the personal tip. So I think I would take my money to the track before gambling on my space shuttle chances.

:pimp

I wouldn't want to go into space because I'm claustrophobic! As for the chances of getting killed - well, heck, I drive the LA freeways every day so that's no big deal.

Cyn

Any fucking day ... This would be an AWESOME experience ...

You got 49 chances out of 50 to be one of the lucky man that would go into space

Good point ;)

Your odds of dying on an LA Freeway via a car accident are approximately 1:100,000 every time you pull out of the driveway. But your odds of dying on an LA Freeway from accidentally cutting off some gang leader who then promptly shoots you dead are more in the range of 1:5, so I see your point.

:)

They have porn in space?

Not in a million years. I am terrified of dying. To be totally honest, I am terrified of dying in a car accident as well, I know people who have... Sometimes I get edgy and very uptight when driving, especially on the freeway. I try to avoid fwy as much as possible ( i try to take inside streets whenever I can), so there is no way in hell i am going on a damn spaceship.

I have flown in airplanes as well, but i also try to avoid those. Best thing is to stay home for me...

I would do it without a doubt.... Astronauts know the risk... but they have such an amazing interest and love for what they do that they accept that. I'd rather die doing something I love then doing something I have to do... like the thousands of people that die yearly in car accidents going to jobs they hate.